Burst
by Screaming Argonaut
Summary: It would seem that Ed's playing hooky from work, but Havoc soon discovers the severity of the situation. rating lowered to T because there was less vulgarity than i had anticipated.
1. Chapter 1

"_Fullmetal hasn't shown up at work yet. go get his ass in gear, Lieutenant." _Mustang ordered his subordinate, Jean Havoc, not ten minutes prior. The weather hadn't been shittier since two years ago. The rain had been constant; not letting up for six straight days. Jean could barely see through his windshield despite the wipers working at the fastest speed available. Havoc was not in the least bit pleased that he, of all people, was responsible for getting a lazy-ass thirteen year-old boy out of bed. It wouldn't happen if Ed's little brother hadn't been in Risembul for the past week. Mustang had been kind enough to buy everyone a big juicy steak the night before, and this is how Ed repaid him?

Havoc slid to a stop outside Ed's flat and grabbed his military-issue umbrella. The gods must have been working against Jean on this day, because the rain was blowing horizontally in his face. The wind also blew his umbrella inside out. He made a decision; he was going to beat the ever-living piss out of this kid. Getting inside the complex was simple enough. Someone propped the front door open with a flip-flop. Also, Ed stupidly left a key under his floor mat. Jean threw open the door, sopping wet and ever so pissed. He was about to begin the lecture of his life when he heard someone crying softly from the bathroom.

Jean cautiously opened the door to find the lad lying on his left side clutching his torso painfully. His breathing was harsh and his soft cries were stifled as to not overstress his turning stomach. All of Havoc's anger seemed to fly out the window in an instant as he looked down at who he thought of as a kid brother. (and nothing fucks with Jean's little bro. person or otherwise.) He knelt down and gingerly touched Ed's shoulder.

"Hey, chief. What's going on, man?" He was answered only by another moan of pain. The stench of bile made itself apparent when he turned Ed around and he saw his shirt covered in sick. Havoc tried to get Ed to sit upright but as soon as he did, Ed shrieked in excruciating pain. Jean quickly laid him back down and gently dragged him out of the bathroom. Jean picked him up as gently as possible and put him on the couch. Havoc removed his dirty shirt and threw it in the sink. He took a closer look at the boy and noticed how dark his eyes were. He could safely assume that whatever this was, it kept Ed up all night. 'whatever' may be a poor choice of words. Havoc was fairly certain of what this was, but he had to check.

"Ed, listen to me. I'm going to start poking at your stomach. When it hurts, you tell me, okay?"

At first Ed shook his head. Wasn't it obvious to the man that his torso was on _fire?_ And that poking it would just make it worse? After a moment's hesitation, he caved and removed his hands from his body. Jean took two fingers and prodded gently, albeit deeply at random places on Ed's tummy. After each poke, he looked up to watch for body language. Noticing nothing, he kept going. He was purposefully avoiding the spot below his ribs on the right side. After poking everywhere else, he carefully applied pressure to that one spot, and Ed lurched forward, screaming in agony as fresh tears leaked from his eyes. Jean was positive now. He needed to get the boy to a hospital now. He got up and gave Ed a reassuring smile.

"I gotta call this one in, Boss. I'll be right back. Oh, and if you're gonna yarf again, use this." He handed a large bowl from the cupboard down to Ed, who took it with a frown. Jean made his way to the other room where he could talk in private. The line rang thrice before it was answered by the Colonel.

"Mustang."

"It's Havoc. I'm at Fullmetal's place…It's his appendix, sir. It's bad."

"What the hell is that?"

"Um, Appendicitus sir?"

"You're talking to a soldier, not a doctor lieutenant."

"Ugh, He need's medical attention, sir. If his Appendix bursts, he could die."

"Okay, okay, lieutenant. I'll call a bus."

"No time, sir. I'll take him myself. See you there, sir."

He hung up, leaving no room for argument. Ed was Roy's responsibility. Havoc picked Ed and the bowl up and brought them both out to the car.

Jean drove as fast as he could safely through the heinous weather. He made the mistake of taking corners too fast, and Ed barely made his vomit in the bowl. Havoc saw it happen. He was less concerned with the cleanliness of his new car, and more concerned with the blood he saw Ed cough up. Jean screeched to a stop just outside the urgent care wing of the Military hospital. The nurses seemed to understand the situation and they brought out the stretcher. The nurses placed Ed on it and pulled him away. One of the nurses kept Jean back and asked him for the details. The man calmed himself and slowly explained what happened, keeping an eye on the departing stretcher. She closed her little notepad and told him to take a seat. He looked desperately after Ed, but saw that they went in the elevator. He lowered his shoulders worriedly and almost obeyed when he felt something slide in his pocket. He looked down at the nurse and she whispered in his ear.

"Third floor, they'll be prepping him. Room 312. Call me." He grinned ear to ear and raced up the stairs after his little buddy.


	2. Chapter 2

_I'm so awesome! I got my Lady Gaga ticket today! Worth the $200, I think._

Havoc raced up the stairs determined to be with Ed throughout his ordeal. He made a note not to take the stairs again. He was in good shape, but as he reached the third floor, he was wiping sweat beads off his forehead. He threw the door open and searched for Ed's prep room. He missed it the first time, and had to double-back. He found the door and saw the boy with a mask on and the doctors were drawing lines on his belly. Havoc grabbed the handle just as it opened to reveal a middle-aged doctor with rectangular glasses.

"Er, can I help you with something?" Havoc arched his head around the man to get a good look at Ed as he responded.

"Is he gonna be okay?" The doctor looked down at Ed's chart and back up at Jean.

"Oh, you must be the man who brought him in. Can I get your name, please?"

"2nd Lieutenant Jean Havoc." The doctor mumbled his name as he jotted it down.

"2nd…-tenant Jean….Havoc. Okay, how do you know its appendicitis?"

"I've seen people with it before. I applied pressure to his lower abdomen and he was in horrible pain. Look doc, can I see him?"

"I just have a few more questions, sir. Are you aware of what he ate the night before?" Havoc hesitated before he answered.

"um…He along with the rest of our crew had a steak dinner."

"Home-made?"

"No, our colonel treated us to dinner at Grampy's steak house."

The doctor along with the other personnel in Ed's room winced.

"ugh, they should close that place down. Disgusting place. It seems that every other day, we have a new case of food poisoning after a patient ate there. Typically the patients are children, being more susceptible to that illness and all." The doctor snapped the chart shut and smiled at Jean.

"Good news Lieutenant, We won't have to operate after all. Looks like food poisoning." Havoc almost fainted in relief, or maybe he almost fainted at the realization that he ate the same steak that Ed did.

"You can see him, lieutenant." Havoc barely let the man finish his sentence before barging in the room. Ed was still conscious, but pale with fear. His eyes were locked on his belly observing the incision lines. Havoc ruffled his bangs and took a wet wash cloth to his torso, wiping the ink off. Ed looked up at him skeptically. Havoc explained to him that they were not going to cut him open, and that after some rest and a fluid diet, he should be fine. Ed tried to get up, but his arms were strapped to the bed. He and Jean stole a glare at the doctor who only shrugged.

"We've had Major Elric in here before," was the only explanation he gave. With the Doc's permission, Jean removed the straps and Ed tried to get out of the bed. However, The old man stopped him.

"Nope, nope, not yet Edward. We have some tests to do still." Ed narrowed his eyes.

"What kind of tests?"

"Well, first and foremost, we'll need a stool sample." Ed cocked his head to one side while Havoc stifled a laugh. Jean stood up and took his leave.

"You behave, Ed. I need to make some calls. Be back soon." Right before he closed the door, he saw the doctor whisper something to the boy whose eyes widened considerably.

"What?"

Havoc found himself in front of the phone dialing what he hoped was the Rockbell's number. He leaned against the wall as the line rang.

"Bueno?...Bueno?"

"Oops, wrong number." He hung up quickly. "I knew it was 4252." He tried again and this time Pinako answered.

"Oh, hello Ma'am, is Alphonse available?"

"May I ask who is calling?" She asked grumpily.

"Lieutenant Havoc, It's about Ed." She screeched for Al to come to the phone as it was right next to her face. Havoc ripped the phone from his ear, that he was sure was bleeding now. Within a few moments, a soft and hollow voice echoed in greeting.

"Hey Al, its Havoc. Don't get upset now, but you should know that Ed is in the hospital."

"What? That stupid brother of mine!" Havoc tried to explain, but he heard Winry's voice at the other end.

"What is it Al?"

"Ed is in the hospital…_again!_"

"I swear to god, if his automail is busted again, He'll need an automail head after I'm through with him!" Havoc had to shout into the phone to get Al's attention.

"ALPHONSE! He didn't get into a fight; He just has a little food poisoning. He'll be fine, don't even bother coming down here….No Al, he won't die…No; nobody intentionally poisoned him…okay Al? I need to go. Ed is going to be fine. Okay, bye." Havoc's hand rested on the receiver for a moment as he sighed. Someone cleared their throat behind him. He turned to see Colonel Mustang standing behind him with that stupid smirk on his face. Havoc chuckled and saluted his superior.

"They're a weird bunch, sir." Havoc explained to Roy who chuckled with him.

_To be continued_


	3. Chapter 3

"Congratulations! You're going to have a baby!"

"What?" Ed shrieked. The small female doctor glanced at the room number.

"Oops! Sorry, wrong room!" with that, she left. Leaving the boy utterly confused.

Jean seldom left Ed's side since the doctor left to run tests on Ed's stool sample. He tried his best to entertain him by telling him humorous anecdotes from previous missions. Periodically, Mustang would leave the room and Jean would let Ed in on a dirty little secret about the Colonel. As the older man returned, Ed couldn't help but giggle at him. Laughing seemed to aggravate his stomach pains, so Havoc stopped with the jokes for a while. Once Ed's pains died down, he tried to start up a conversation.

"So…um, why are you guys…in the military…and stuff?" Both men were taken aback by the question. A question like that rarely reached their ears. Both of them had to think about it, but Havoc came up with an answer first.

"Well, I was never the sharpest crayon in the box, so the army was really my only option. The pay sucks, but I have experiences that I wouldn't trade for anything."

"Are you hinting for a raise, Lieutenant?" Roy joked.

"That'd be nice, Colonel. Thank you!" Roy raised a finger to object, but Ed interrupted him.

"What about you, bastard?" Roy wasn't quite ready to reveal his true intentions of becoming Fuhrer, so he took the exaggerated route.

"Well Fullmetal, I like power. So naturally a system with ranks and certain privileges caught my attention right away. With my vast skills, I easily reached my current position and I am still the object of every woman's fantasies." This caused Ed to go into yet another fit of laughter and thus causing him to double over in pain. Roy felt the nurses had let this go on long enough. He called one in and asked why they hadn't given the poor boy anything for his pain. The young nurse felt pity and let Ed have an ibuprofen. After he painfully swallowed it with a considerable amount of water, the conversation resumed.

"What about you, Chief?" Ed and Roy gave Jean a confused look.

"I think you two, of all people, know why I joined…" Ed replied

"I know why you _joined,_ but what else would you have done? Every kid has an idea of what they want to be. I wanted to be a car designer!"

"Oh," was Ed's response. His face grew hot with embarrassment as he mumbled something incoherent.

Suddenly, Roy was interested.

"What's that, Fullmetal? We didn't catch that one."

"I…I wanted to be a fireman…" His blush grew more intense. He avoided their gazes but was curious when no response, positive or negative, was given. He glanced back to see the two men trying to hide their smiles.

"What?" Ed demanded.

"who _didn't_ want to be a fireman?" Havoc asked. "Don't need to be embarrassed by that! I think you'd make a damn fine fire fighter." The man praised. Ed couldn't help but smile at the encouragement. He seldom got praise for what he said and did. He would never say it aloud, but he was rather enjoying the company, and even the hospital treatment…to some extent.

That is, until he started vomiting blood again.

It came without warning. The three men were enjoying their little conversation when Ed opened his mouth and he puked all over himself. Roy and Jean recoiled in horror as what looked like goopy coffee grounds sprayed out of the sick kid. Roy ran into the hallway and screamed for a doctor. Several nurses ran in and ushered the two men out of the room. They could only stand stupidly outside as they heard their comrade retching in between heart-wrenching sobs. The two men were shoved aside as Ed's doctor ran in cursing up and down. Defeated, they found a couple chairs in the hallway and waited.

About twenty minutes later, the doctor came out and stood before them. He had a serious look in his eyes that they hadn't seen before.

"He's better now, but was he given anything?" The two men looked at each other before Mustang replied.

"He was given an ibuprofen because he was in pain." Dr. Wilkes took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Pain pills. Who gave it to him?"

"A nurse."

"Which nurse?" he bellowed, suddenly infuriated. Havoc was losing his patience.

"What the hell does it matter? What's the problem?" Wilkes sighed and put his lenses back on.

"I took one look at Ed's stool sample and have come to a conclusion. It was black. Black, because he is bleeding. I am certain, because of the amount of blood, that he has numerous ulcers on his stomach wall. Pain pills are commonly coated with a compound that can wear through stomach lining. Prolonged use of those can cause an ulcer, but for someone who already has one? Extremely painful and will cause more bloody vomit. Most people get ulcers at one point in their life, but this is bad to put it bluntly. It's not the ulcers themselves that are fatal; the issues lies in that if they form blood vessels, there could be serious hemorrhaging that would need emergency surgery to save him. Now, that is the worst case scenario. That would only be the case if he ignored the severe pain for too long. As tough as that boy in there is, even adults scream like children with that kind of pain."

"What caused it? The steak?" Jean asked nervously.

"What, the steak from last night?" Roy asked curiously. The doctor shook his head.

"Food won't _cause_ ulcers, but that diseased crap sure as hell didn't help. Ulcer pain can come and go. Many dismiss it as heartburn at first. They take an antacid and the pain may go away for days if not weeks. Ed is in the advanced stages of a peptic ulcer, but it's not life threatening yet. I'd like to do an endoscopy to locate them and even treat them during the process. For that, I need someone's permission. Are either of you his guardian?"

"I'm about as close as it gets." Roy answered. The doctor looked him over suspiciously, but shrugged. He didn't care about Ed's personal life. All he cared about is that that little boy was in the next room crying because he doesn't know what is wrong with him. Roy signed the consent form and the doctor turned to start, but he was stopped by Roy again.

"Wait a second, _what_ was wrong with my steak?"


	4. Chapter 4

Getting permission to perform the endoscopy and preparing for it was one thing, but explaining the procedure to Ed was another matter entirely. Dr. Wilkes and Havoc were on both sides of the bed in case Ed tried to make a break for it when they told him.

"So basically, you're gonna shove a tube down my throat and poke at my insides looking for ulcers?" Ed asked for confirmation.

"Well, I wouldn't put it like that, but basically yes." Wilkes nodded.

"Hmm. Okay, we're done here." Ed stated as he ripped the sheets off his bed and tried to leap off the bed towards the Doctor, knowing full well that Jean could catch him. However, the old man was faster than he looked. He grabbed Ed by the waist and threw him back on the bed.

"Oh my son, it seems you've managed to wriggle out of the straps!" he panted.

"No, that nice nurse untied me." All three of them looked at the nurse in the doorway blushing behind her clipboard.

"I thought…it was inhumane…" she explained. Wilkes tightened Ed's straps and arched his back, a few groaning pops filled his ears.

"Loosening his straps IS inhumane…for everyone else!" Wilkes declared while ignoring the fierce glare he knew he was receiving. He rolled his shoulders until he heard more of the satisfying pops before turning to the boy again, waving a document in his face.

"Luckily for you kid, we don't need _your_ permission; we had your guardian sign this consent form _for_ you!" He held the paper still so Ed could read the signature

_Roy Mustang_

"What the hell? He's not my dad!" the boy declared. Wilkes shoved the document back in the folder and tapped it on Ed's head.

"Oops."

"MALPRACTICE!"

Ed was fidgeting in discomfort as they wheeled his bed into the procedure room.

_Did that stupid doctor REALLY need to make these straps so tight?_ He asked himself. He managed to sneak a glimpse at his left wrist and saw that the strap gave his skin a slightly darker tint, making him wonder if he had a bruise. He tried to keep his mind on something else. However, just being in the hospital was bringing all his thoughts back to the issue at hand.

The smell of antiseptics was always present, and if he turned his head any which way, he would see people in all stages of illness and injury. It made him feel a bit guilty that he had a sore in his stomach, and he was being wheeled into surgery as all these people needed much more held than he did. Why did he have priority? Surely his pains were less severe than the old lady with a gash on her forehead.

They wheeled him into the room and briefly untied him to lift him into the other bed. Ed thought _his_ room was in poor taste. He glanced around to see that the wallpaper had pink flowers in a continuous pattern all around him. It made him wish that he was back in his simply beige room. His attention was brought back to the people poking and prodding at him. He noticed that Dr. Wilkes was not present. Not that he missed him, but at least he knew who he was. He asked the younger-looking nurse where he was.

"Oh, he won't be doing the procedure. Our pediatric surgeon will be in charge." Ed groaned in humiliation. He was a solider for Pete's sake! His worries were realized when Dr. Sheila Benson burst in the room with a ridiculous smile on her face. Ed face was contorted in disgust as he observed her outfit. It was _covered_ in clown stickers.

"Why hello, Edward, can I call you Edward?" Ed had formed his opinion of her before she even spoke, so he decided to make it a little harder for her.

"My name is Major Elric. I also go by Fullmetal. That's what you can call me." His gaze was directed to the attractive nurse. He was trying his damndest to avoid the surgeon and the hot chick seemed like the best way to go.

"Oh, do you like to pretend that you're a solider?"

"Who's pretending? Read my chart." Sheila curiously opened the folder and her eyes widened when she read his name.

_Major Edward Elric; The Fullmetal Alchemist_

"Oh…why are you strapped to the bed?"

"Because I just might hit you." He answered in all honesty.

She said nothing as she closed the chart. She was slightly embarrassed by talking to a solider so condescendingly. Ed had to cut her a little slack. After all, she did deal with small children all day. She talked quietly to one of the nurses and Ed heard the word 'Automail' amidst the mumbling. Benson walked over to him cautiously and asked to see his prosthetic limbs. He shrugged before she drew the sheets off of him. She held her hand to her mouth as she took in the sight. She brushed her fingers against his steel arm before she asked, "How long?"

"Since I was eleven, it was an accident."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault." She took the hint and continued her work.

"Well, with automail this can be a little tricky. Full-…Honey, we need to adjust the anesthetic to compensate for your arm and leg, so if you feel pain we can give you more, but you need to tell us."

"How can I do that with a freakin' tube in my throat?"

"You can squeeze someone's hand and that person can tell us. Is there someone you'd want to be in here? Like one of those two men who brought you in? They're just outside."

Ed looked towards the door, and sure enough, Mustang and Havoc were both trying to look through the small window. She read his mind and started walking to the door. Ed snapped to attention just in time to shout,

"Havoc!"


End file.
